An employee poses in front of a digital display showing the Kospi at 7,992.80 at Hana Bank's dealing room in central Seoul on May 12. [YONHAP]
Korean stocks opened at a fresh record high of above 7,900 points on Tuesday, heading toward the unprecedented 8,000-point mark, as major chipmakers continued their bull run, despite woes over little progress in peace talks between the United States and Iran.
The benchmark Kospi rose 131.17 points, or 1.68 percent, to a new peak of 7,953.41 at the opening bell, touching the 7,900 level for the first time.
The Kospi surged to an all-time high of 7,822.24 on Monday, ending above the 7,800 threshold for the first time in history, on the back of the extended rally of blue-chip tech shares, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
Since the Kospi broke the 7,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday, it has continued to set fresh record highs, extending its winning streak to five consecutive sessions as of Monday.
The index tracked overnight tech gains on Wall Street, which rose on optimism for continued growth in the AI industry, despite geopolitical uncertainties stemming from an impasse in peace negotiations between the United States and Iran, as well as the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Micron jumped 6.5 percent, Intel added 3.62 percent, Qualcomm soared 8.42 percent, and Nvidia rose 1.97 percent.
The S&P 500 broke a record after it rose 0.19 percent from the previous session to trade at 7412.84, the first time the benchmark broke the 7,400 mark. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq also rose 0.19 percent and 0.10 percent, respectively.
Earlier in the day, Trump said he is considering renewing "Project Freedom," an initiative aimed at helping guide stranded vessels through the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
The local currency weakened by 2.6 won from the previous session to trade at 1,475 won against the greenback as of 9 a.m.
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